# VNC connection for the monitorily challenged Noob [http://elinux.org/Wheezy_VNC VNC for a wheezy install] (noobs that are using the Blind Login)

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# VNC connection for the monitorily challenged Noob [[RPi_Wheezy_VNC|VNC for a wheezy install]] (noobs that are using the Blind Login)

# If you've done all that, and you are wondering what next...'''welcome and read on!'''

# If you've done all that, and you are wondering what next...'''welcome and read on!'''

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References needed (idea for new section Living Without RPi, which can guide users or link to info to users who haven't got RPis)

References needed (idea for new section Living Without RPi, which can guide users or link to info to users who haven't got RPis)

Link to emulation builds or live linux cds setup for beginners (RacyPy2 for example)

Link to emulation builds or live linux cds setup for beginners (RacyPy2 for example)

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If you don't have a Raspberry Pi yet, you can still try things out, see xxxx for details.

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If you don't have a Raspberry Pi yet, you can still try things out, see [http://sourceforge.net/projects/rpiqemuwindows/ Windows RPi Emulator] for details.

=What is Linux and why not use Windows?=

=What is Linux and why not use Windows?=

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[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Wikipedia]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux Wikipedia]

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Also see [http://elinux.org/RPi_End-user_FAQ End-User FAQ]

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Also see [[RPi_End-user_FAQ End-User|FAQ]]

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And [http://elinux.org/Will_RPi_Run Running XXX on the RPi]

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And [[Will_RPi_Run|Running XXX on the RPi]]

=Basic Debian RPi Setup=

=Basic Debian RPi Setup=

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== Default login and password ==

== Default login and password ==

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See the ''default login'' section of [[RPi_Distributions#Available Distributions|distributions page]] to access your Pi.

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See the ''Username:Password'' column of [[RPi_Distributions#Available Distributions|distributions table]] to access your Pi.

== Locale settings ==

== Locale settings ==

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You may want to create a new user account for yourself.

You may want to create a new user account for yourself.

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Type in following command in the terminal to create a new user:

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Type in following command in the terminal to create a new user (for example the user john):

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sudo adduser username

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sudo adduser john

Follow the steps.

Follow the steps.

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Add following line under the "root ALL=(ALL) ALL" Line:

Add following line under the "root ALL=(ALL) ALL" Line:

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yourUsername ALL=(ALL) ALL

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john ALL=(ALL) ALL

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Now press CTRL+K, X to save and exit the editor.

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Now press CTRL+O, X to save and exit the editor.

Alternatively instead of adding the user to the sudoers list, you can add your user to the sudo group with the following command:

Alternatively instead of adding the user to the sudoers list, you can add your user to the sudo group with the following command:

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adduser <username> sudo

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adduser john sudo

== Debian Wheezy, using raspi-config ==

== Debian Wheezy, using raspi-config ==

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Debian Wheezy has a menu that will do some of the above and more [[Wheezy_raspi-config]]

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Debian Wheezy has a menu that will do some of the above and more. See [[RPi_raspi-config|raspi-config]]

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=Intro to the CLI (Command Line Interface)=

=Intro to the CLI (Command Line Interface)=

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=Adding USB Storage to Your Raspberry Pi=

=Adding USB Storage to Your Raspberry Pi=

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Sooner or later, you're going to run out of room on the SD card used to boot up your Raspberry Pi. For a tutorial on how to connect USB flash drives and hard drives to your Pi to expand storage, see: [http://elinux.org/Adding_USB_Drives_to_a_Raspberry_Pi Adding USB Drives to a Raspberry Pi]

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Sooner or later, you're going to run out of room on the SD card used to boot up your Raspberry Pi. For a tutorial on how to connect USB flash drives and hard drives to your Pi to expand storage, see: [http://elinux.org/RPi_Adding_USB_Drives Adding USB Drives to a Raspberry Pi]

=Beginner Projects=

=Beginner Projects=

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Reference needed - a good guide on how to backup and restore cards or software to do this easily

Reference needed - a good guide on how to backup and restore cards or software to do this easily

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==Backup Software==

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==Backup your SD card==

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For Windows users the 'Raw HDD Copy Tool' from HDD Guru works well to backup and restore your SD card between proejcts.

For Windows users the 'Raw HDD Copy Tool' from HDD Guru works well to backup and restore your SD card between proejcts.

This can backup and restore the entire card sector by sector to/from an img file, and doesn't care which file system is on the card.

This can backup and restore the entire card sector by sector to/from an img file, and doesn't care which file system is on the card.

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http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/

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http://hddguru.com/software/HDD-Raw-Copy-Tool/

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Linux users can use the dd tool that comes with most versions of Linux (including Raspbian) to save the contents of an SD card as an image file. Warning: be sure to use this tool carefully as accidentally choosing your hard drive as the output may destroy all data on it.

==Media Player==

==Media Player==

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DesignSpark have written an article on this, which is worth a look, [http://www.designspark.com/content/raspberry-pi-goes-movies DesignSpark - Raspberry Pi goes to the movies]

DesignSpark have written an article on this, which is worth a look, [http://www.designspark.com/content/raspberry-pi-goes-movies DesignSpark - Raspberry Pi goes to the movies]

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Reference needed - links to a specific wiki page covering this in detail or links to projects like

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You can download an installer from www.raspbmc.com which will install to your desktop (IOS, Windows, Linux) and write the latest install to your SD card. You then boot your Pi with the card and go through the config steps.

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OpenElec, CrystalBuntu, Raspbmc etc

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There is a breif video basic tutorial here: http://www.instructables.com/id/RaspberryPi-Media-center-XMBC/

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''Reference needed - More information is needed on specific configuration choices for raspbmc, although raspbmc.com does have a wiki.''

If you've done all that, and you are wondering what next...welcome and read on!

References needed (idea for new section Living Without RPi, which can guide users or link to info to users who haven't got RPis)
Link to emulation builds or live linux cds setup for beginners (RacyPy2 for example)

If you don't have a Raspberry Pi yet, you can still try things out, see Windows RPi Emulator for details.

What is Linux and why not use Windows?

Linux is an operating system just like Windows, however, unlike Windows (which needs a set hardware requirement to run i.e. One Size fits or get different hardware), Linux comes in many varieties and configurations which means you can usually find a flavour (or Distribution) which fits your hardware big or small / fast or slow.

The Raspberry Pi is not suited to running Windows due to its hardware, but there are plenty of Linux Distributions which fit nicely. In addition to this, most Distributions of Linux are free, however Windows can cost many times the price of the Raspberry Pi itself.

Chances are you already have Linux running in your home without you even knowing it, since it is commonly used in modern TVs, Freeview and cable boxes to run things and ensure your recording of Inbetweeners or Prison Break gets done!

Default login and password

Locale settings

By configuring the locale settings, you can change the language and country settings (e.g. to get correct sorting behaviour) for much of the software available for the RPi. The default RPi locale is English/Great Britain ("en_GB").

You can alter this with

sudo dpkg-reconfigure locales

You will get a very long list of possible locales. You can enable/disable a locale by pressing the spacebar (not Enter), and scroll through the list using the arrow keys or PgUp/PgDn.

Selecting "All locales" will generate all possible locales, taking a very long time and using a great deal of space. Select only those you wish to use.

It is highly recommended to stick to the UTF-8 locales, and to leave the en_GB.UTF-8 locale enabled, in addition to any other locales you enable.

Follow the prompts to finish the config. The change should be immediate.

Create a new user with sudo-privileges

You may want to create a new user account for yourself.

Type in following command in the terminal to create a new user (for example the user john):

sudo adduser john

Follow the steps.

To allow the newly created user to use the "sudo" command, type:

sudo visudo

Add following line under the "root ALL=(ALL) ALL" Line:

john ALL=(ALL) ALL

Now press CTRL+O, X to save and exit the editor.

Alternatively instead of adding the user to the sudoers list, you can add your user to the sudo group with the following command:

adduser john sudo

Debian Wheezy, using raspi-config

Debian Wheezy has a menu that will do some of the above and more. See raspi-config

Intro to the CLI (Command Line Interface)

You will need to use the Command Line Interface at some point in your management of the RPi. The command line interface is a powerful way to interact with the Raspberry Pi and is well worth learning some basic commands to get started with.

Your SD card may boot into a GUI, if not and you are done with the text interface and want to use a graphical one instead, run:

startx

Remote Access

Your default install probably has a ssh (secure shell) "daemon" running.
This means that you can run everything on your Rpi with only the network attached. Provided you know which ip address it has. With appropriate software installed on your Winodws, Mac or Linux PC, you can also run a gui remotely.

Prior to your initial remote access it is recommended that you regenerate unique host public/private ID keys with the following command

Adding more software to your Raspberry Pi

You will probably want to add software to your Raspberry Pi. Here you can find out how to do it.
Adding Software

Adding USB Storage to Your Raspberry Pi

Sooner or later, you're going to run out of room on the SD card used to boot up your Raspberry Pi. For a tutorial on how to connect USB flash drives and hard drives to your Pi to expand storage, see: Adding USB Drives to a Raspberry Pi

Beginner Projects

Here are a few things you can try out with your Raspberry Pi, in most cases all you'll need is your SD Card loaded with a particular preconfigured OS Distribution.

It will be worth getting a few spare SD Cards if you think you will switch between setups regularly or become familiar with how to back up and restore your card.

Reference needed - a good guide on how to backup and restore cards or software to do this easily

Backup your SD card

For Windows users the 'Raw HDD Copy Tool' from HDD Guru works well to backup and restore your SD card between proejcts.
This can backup and restore the entire card sector by sector to/from an img file, and doesn't care which file system is on the card.

Linux users can use the dd tool that comes with most versions of Linux (including Raspbian) to save the contents of an SD card as an image file. Warning: be sure to use this tool carefully as accidentally choosing your hard drive as the output may destroy all data on it.

Media Player

With this configuration you will typically have the Raspberry Pi connected to a TV or large monitor and a source of videos/music/photos etc you wish to play (i.e. Internet/hard-drive/local network etc).

You can download an installer from www.raspbmc.com which will install to your desktop (IOS, Windows, Linux) and write the latest install to your SD card. You then boot your Pi with the card and go through the config steps.

Entering "sudo apt-get install abiword-common" into a terminal will install AbiWord, a lighter weight but still fully functional word processor

Entering "sudo apt-get install gnumeric" into a terminal will install Gnumeric, a lighter weight but still fully functional spreadsheet

More information needed

Your Own Pet Project!

The sky is the limit really, with some time and effort any number of projects can be achieved.

Even if you don't have the skill to do it yourself, you can join like minded people by getting involved with one of the numerous groups in the Community Section, also within the Education pages or learn what you need in from the Guides & Tutorials sections.

Of course, if you do anything interesting then please let us know in the Projects section.

Living Without RPi

Even if you do not have any Raspberry Pi hardware there are a number things you can do to learn about linux, programming or even controlling hardware.

Using Linux

You can install a version of Linux on most computers, and many you will be able to "try out" Linux by using a "Live CD" - this will start your computer up running from a CD or DVD and run Linux (without installing anything to the computer itself).

RacyPy - This is a simple LiveCD of Puppy Linux which includes some basic programming languages and a light-weight graphical user interface (GUI).

Trying Programming

Many of the programming languages you can use on the Raspberry Pi can be installed on a Windows or Mac machine. Just visit the websites of the languages you are interested in and see if they have an installer for your operating system.

Controlling Hardware

As discussed in the Easy GPIO Hardware & Software tutorials, there are lots of alternative hardware you can use to experiment with (some as little as $5).

About This Page - For Contributors

The intention of this page is to provide a starting point for beginners and to direct them to the kind of information a person would need in order to start doing something useful or interesting with a Raspberry Pi.

It is not intended to contain or replicate much of the information already available on-line or elsewhere in the wiki, however please create new wiki pages and link them here if there is information beginners will find useful (similarly any section which grows too much here, should be separated into new pages as and when needed)!

At the moment building up ideas of content of typical things beginners will want to know and the kind of things they will want to do first.